11:30am EST - Just added some edits below based on today's development updates. I'll continue to mark any changes as the day progresses.

1:40am EST - As of about 12 hours ago, rad towns have been live on the development branch. As you may suspect, this is a huge game changer. This article aims to answer the core questions people have about the rad town build. Note: These changes are not yet live on the main branch. If all goes smooth, we may see them live Friday (that is a big if).

What types of rad towns are there?

Currently, there are three types of rad towns: A factory type thing, a house and a truck station (see below). Don’t get too used to these, according to Garry it, “is all terrible placeholder from the asset store until we figure out what works/doesn't work.” They live up to their name as they do have a deadly amount of radiation, so watch out!

How many rad towns per map?

There is 1 version of each rad town on every map, regardless of size. As with the looks of towns, the placement and quantity are likely to change.

How do I get loot?

Don’t go looking for boxes like in legacy, loot now spawns in barrels. To access said loot, you must hit the barrel. After about 6 hits with the rock (or 2 with a stone spear or hatchet) the barrel disappears and anywhere from 0 to 2 bags drop on the ground. That’s right, some barrels don’t drop anything. Don’t worry, they aren’t very rare...

Where to get loot?

At this moment, rad towns are not the only place to find loot. Infact, they are probably the last place you want to go to find loot (given they are chock full of radiation). Loot barrels are spawning all over the map at a phenomenal rate. As fun as it may be to play Rust: Barrel Whack-a-mole, server performance is going to shit as more and more barrels spawn. This is temporary as I’m sure the spawn rates will be tweaked prior to the live launch.

What is in each type of loot box?

All sorts of shit. I’ve seen everything from apples to paper to medical syringes to raw chicken. Players will notice a bunch of items they haven't seen before (rad pills, cans of beans, granola bars, etc). Although some of these items work (rad pills slightly reduce rads), many do not (I’m looking at you, can of tuna).

What about blueprints?

Blueprints are officially in and they shift gameplay in a huge way. You are no longer able to craft most things off the bat. Instead, you have to find blueprints in loot barrels to learn the how to craft them. When you find say, a medical syringe blueprint in a barrel, you can either use it, or study it. If you study it (right click), the syringe disappears but you can now craft it through your crafting menu. At the moment, learned blueprints are carrying over through wipes (but not from server to server). My sense is, however, that blueprints are not intended to carry over after a wipe.

Edit: There is a new 'persistence' folder in your server identity. Deleting this will clear everyone's studied blueprints.

What can you craft when you start?

Below is the list of things which can currently be crafted as a fresh spawn. Before you lose your shit over the fact you can craft an assault rifle but not a stone hatchet, remember, this is a first iteration and will be tweaked. Ironically, you’re able to craft a building plan but not paper, meaning you have to first find paper and study it before you can reliably make a building plan.

The list:

Tool Cupboard
Building Plan
Furnace
Camp Fire
Sleeping Bag

Burlap Shirt, Shoes, Trousers
Urban Boots, Pants
vagabond jacket
Hammer
Assault Rifle

Edit: Ok this list changed as of the update in the past hour. You can now also craft wood storage, paper and stone hatchet by default. That makes more sense!

Do airdrops work?

Yes! Airdrops are now dropping actual loot. On top of that, they are dropping randomly around the map (as opposed to in the center each time). Better yet, they are dropping some good shit! I’m talking bullets (80 to 160 rounds), guns (1 to 3), armor and bear traps. It looks like each airdrop has 5 high valued items.

Console item list

Another tab has been added to the console: item list. This is pretty useless to most players, however, it does allow admins to spawn any item without having to type out the inventory.give command.

Other notes

Campfires have 60 wood now to start (enough to cook a piece of meat!)
Rad Pills do work, slightly
Apple heals 10 health
Rotten apple recovers some of your hunger and deals 4 damage

Stone texture

The updated stone texture is in and it's looking great!

A big thanks to my team who helped me gather this data. If you’re interested in joining the team to help us test out new stuff, please email me at rustafied@gmail.com.

Still have questions? Please ask on our forum and we’ll our best to answer.